Applying Knowledge to Practice
Reflecting on what a great week we had in the Catskills, I am filled with a warm sense of completeness the day after finishing up the Nervous System and Restorative Yoga Module with Yoga Medicine. The group of yogis who traveled from all over the world to join us perfectly complemented the serene and peaceful landscape that the Menla Mountain Retreat provided. It was a joy to work together, learning about how the nervous system works and how we can apply our practice to achieve balance in this incredibly sophisticated system.
The big takeaway points of this week were understanding how we take in information from our surroundings, how we process this, and ultimately, how we either react or respond - both physically and emotionally. In many of our lives, the demands of society leave us in a state where our more ‘reactive brain’ seems to be the dominant response. Does this have to be our ‘default pathway’? Well, no, but it is difficult to ‘undo’ a lot of the wiring that leads us down the ‘reactive response’ pathway without the tools to allow our contemplative brain to lead the charge.
Restorative yoga and other contemplative practices allow us to formulate connections in our brain that make accessing the ‘thoughtful’ and logical part of our brain easier. With repeated and dedicated practice we can ‘re-wire’ our brains to more frequently choose the contemplative path. This staves off the whole-body stress response which helps us feel less anxious, less distracted and rather, helps us take pause before making the day-to-day decisions that ultimately define our lives.
Neuroplasticity happens when we practice…and practice…and practice… We all left this week at Menla with a deep understanding of the nervous system and a rich experience from which to draw. These tools we all honed from marrying science with the yoga practice will help all of us more often respond to things that happen in our lives rather than react - helping us and those with whom we interact lead more peaceful, thoughtful and happy lives.
Thank you to all who joined us in the Catskills this week! It was a truly wonderful group and I look forward to seeing many of you again. Be well and practice on.